The Cost of A Crown
by DragonLover4Life
Summary: Yona is Queen and remembers her days roaming the countryside fondly. She wants to have just one day where she can go back to what it felt like to be outside and free again. So Hak decides to help her make that happen.


Sitting on her window seat in her room, Yona sighed as she stared up at the night sky, taking the time to let her mind wander as she picked out the constellations she knew. It was one of the few things that felt like it had stayed the same over the last few years. Something that connected her to her past and her present when nearly everything else in her life continued to feel so alien.

They were, in some ways, one of the world's best equalizers she supposed. For the stars shone just as brightly for the richest king as they would the poorest beggar, and this thought brought her comfort somehow. Reminded her of her days roaming the countryside with her family as they fought for, above all else, the common people of her beloved kingdom. Those who had suffered years of neglect and had been trampled upon by those considered to be of 'higher rank'.

Those had been the days when she'd felt the most human. The days when she first began to truly learn about the world around her and gain new skills through trial and error and the necessity, as opposed to the bribery of her tutors as it had been when she was a little girl. These days she seemed to spend most of her time in meetings with foreign dignitaries and listening to petitioners.

The latter she didn't mind as much, as she was grateful to those who made the journey to the capital to inform her of current issues spread throughout the kingdom. It felt more personal as opposed to just listening to the updates from nobles who tended to water down the truth so as not to "cause her any concern" when anything happened. In those meetings, she found herself feeling like an interrogator, trying to pry the truth of the matter from the vague details they often gave.

No, she much preferred the honest truth no matter how distressing it may be. It was only with the truth that she could go about creating a solution to any problem she may be given.

She had loved her father fiercely and missed him every day, but she would not be like him.

Could not, be like him.

Shaking these thoughts from her head, she began to focus instead on going over what her tomorrow's schedule held for her and let herself crack a small smile. Tomorrow Princess Tao was coming to the palace to discuss how things were improving in Xing and continuation of trade between the two of them, though she knew a fair chunk of that time would be spent catching up as friends. It was one of the things she admired about the younger Princess of Xing. No one was ever a stranger, merely a friend she hadn't met yet, and for those she already knew, you were family.

She was mercy when her sister was often unyielding, even with good intentions at heart.

These thoughts warmed her. That is, until she shifted in her seat only to feel the cool touch of metal brush her leg.

She'd taken off her crown for the night as soon as she'd managed to get the heavy wooden doors to her chambers closed for the night. In the moonlight, it almost seemed to glow as the gold reflected intricate patterns onto the windowsill in an assortment of whorls.

Once she'd thought only of the extravagant dresses that she might wear to compliment such a thing. Now she felt the weight of it in her heart, even if on her head –mercifully—It was surprisingly light.

As Queen of Kouka Kingdom, many nobles and servants alike were surprised upon meeting her to discover she preferred to live a quite humble and frugal life by royal standards, never mind as a Queen.

She insisted on smaller, simpler meals for herself unless she was hosting any guests of state. Her wardrobe held only a handful of kimonos with the grandeur expecting a queen, with most being simpler cut dresses that held a modest sort of elegance and were easy enough that she could dress herself without assistance. They were more practical and allowed her to move about more freely while still commanding authority.

She also insisted on meeting with her people personally, frequently making trips with her guards to various outposts and to the capital cities within the five tribes to be updated in current events and concerns if she felt it had been a while since she'd last heard from them. Often her advisors would tell her such trips could be delegated out to others and were unnecessary for her to take but she simply brushed them off.

Lastly, and to the greatest dismay of her guards, she insisted on taking private hunting trips with her husband whenever time would allow it. Even then, 'private' was a relative term as they still had to remain within a single forested area, with guards rotating around its perimeter.

Overkill if you asked her, but she understood their concern, so she put up with it as a compromise.

Anything, for a taste of the freedom she felt she'd given up, what felt like lifetimes ago now.

It had been some time, however, since she was last able to go out hunting with Hak and it had begun to ache at her over the weeks and weeks of nothing but hosting foreign ambassadors who wanted nothing more than to sit, eat, and gossip about _other_ ambassadors. As if this would somehow endear themselves to her.

More than anything else it was sitting at the massive dinners night after night that made her long for the old days on the road with her friends. The informality and the casual closeness of an evening dinner by the fire together out under a sky full of stars just like this night. Of helping out with chores and walking until her legs were numb as opposed to her butt from being stationary and stiff as a rock all day.

Sometimes she felt guilty for missing it so much, knowing how her people needed her, yet other times she longed for it so much it hurt. Those days hadn't been easy, but they'd healed her soul and introduced her to some of the most precious people in her life. She often found herself missing her family as she walked the echoing palace halls alone.

For now though, there was nothing she could do about it and so she forced herself to rid her mind of this useless self-pity and went back to focusing on the art within the sky, counting off Orphiuchus, Cygnus, Corvus, and of course, her favourite; Draco.

{*****}

The next day, after finishing up with her meeting with Tao where they'd had a lovely tea in the northern gardens under the pagoda, she managed to sneak away for a few moments to the royal infirmary and apothecary to visit Yun.

In the years of being at the castle with open access to any and all resources he desired, he had quickly become one of the most knowledgeable and skilled healers the kingdom had seen in centuries. When she reached the medical wing however, she was surprised to find Hak sitting up on an exam table while Yun finished cleaning out a long, clean cut that marred his forearm.

"Hak! What on earth?" She started, rushing the rest of the way into the room to fuss over the wound once Yun allowed her in, claiming he was done apart from bandaging it.

"Relax, it's just a scrap from sparring this morning." He replied, nonchalantly.

Seeing the wound wasn't deep and knowing that if Yun wasn't even the slightest bit ruffled that it was, in fact, just a scrap compared to some of the other times Hak had found himself in need of being patched up, she relented. Instead, now that worrying was no longer necessary, she moved on to irritation, dropping his arm and crossing her own as she stared him down.

"This morning you say? You weren't supposed to be back for another day, at least! Why wasn't I notified that you were back already?"

He gave her a sheepish look as he chuckled lightly to himself while scratching the back of his head with his still unbandaged hand, much to her dismay.

"I may or may not have pushed the caravan to go a little faster on the return trip and asked the guards to keep it to themselves for awhile so that I could be back earlier and surprise you." He said giving her his most charming grin.

"Though, I suppose that surprise is now ruined." He admitted as an afterthought with a half-hearted sigh.

Although she was trying to keep her face stern, against her better judgment, a smile began to curl her lip against her will at his admission. Seeing that he was no longer in trouble, his own expression both warmed and softened as vaguely in the background she noted Yun shuffle down the hall to check up on one of his other patients. Evidently, giving the two of them some rare privacy.

"Hello, My Princess," he said warmly, his voice so familiarly deep and smooth, holding his hand out towards her. She took it eagerly, letting him pull her forward into a long-awaited embrace as she draped her arms over his shoulders. "Hello, My Guard," she replied, sighing as she felt him stroke soothing lines up and down her aching spine.

"It's been too long," he whispered, using one hand to gently tilt her chin up towards him.

"It's always too long," she replied as she closed the rest of the gap between them and kissed him sweetly.

{*****}

Hak could tell she was worn out. She could see it in the way his jaw stayed clenched and that slight glimmer of concern lit the corner of his eyes. He'd always been one to fuss, she knew, and after years of it, she'd stopped bothering to try and tell him to simply relax.

Always on alert and ready, ever the vigilant bodyguard even if that was no longer his official title, and always fussing. These were just some of the things that made Hak, Hak.

It wasn't always with worry, sometimes it was with pride, but he would always be hovering nearby whenever duties didn't take him too far away. And old habit she supposed.

And one that she wasn't unfond of.

After Yun had returned to finish bandaging his arm, they left the medical wing together and headed towards Yona's own, private garden where they might catch up and relay events to each other concerning affairs within and around the kingdom.

They strolled around the stone paths and walls of arching flowers and trees in heavy bloom as they talked. It was only when they were done with sharing information about the state, did they slowly wander over to a carved wooden bench that rested under a massive magnolia to sit.

"You seem tired." Hak began casually, as he leaned against the back of the bench, staring up at the white petals above, yet she could still hear the underlying accusations that this was because she wasn't looking after herself properly when he wasn't there to nag her.

Ordinarily she might have elbowed him in a most un-queenly manner and told him he was imagining things and that she was fine, but. . . she could feel it. That weight slowly getting heavier.

So instead, she slumped back with him and leaned her head on his shoulder, watching a lone petal flutter down to float on the breeze.

"I am. But its fine. A good queen puts her people first, which means meetings must be attended and documents signed all the same."

"A good queen looks after herself as well, or at the very least lets others look after her when she can't be bothered." He said, nipping lightly at her ear and making her let out a small giggle.

"I'll think about it." She replied, her tone teasing as she smiled, feeling him huff lightly in exasperation into her hair.

"You're as stubborn as they get, aren't you?"

"Maybe. But you love it."

"True, though I don't know why." This time, she does elbow him in the ribs, and he let out a light grunt before pulling her close and wrapping his arms around her, pining her own to her sides and disabling any other attack as might have had.

She doesn't seem to mind though she leans back and looks up to find his face smiling down at her. The moment so blissfully quiet and perfect and all their own.

That is, before a maid comes racing around the corner, huffing daintily with her skirts balled up in her fist, evidently out of breath from running all over the place to find either one or both of them.

"Your Majesty! I-I'm so sorry to intrude, especially in your private gardens, but I'm afraid that the General of the Fire Tribe's brother has arrived earlier than expected for your meeting." She relayed quickly; her cheeks flushed from having caught them during a more intimate moment.

She sighed. This was not unexpected of Tae-Jun. While they had become good friends over the years despite their rockier first few encounters, he was still as frantic as ever when it came to seeing her. Always eager to ask her how she'd been fairing and tell her all about improvements in the agricultural villages of the Fire Tribe's lands.

Still, she did enjoy seeing him after so long and wouldn't want to keep him waiting, less he start to become distressed by her absence.

Extracting herself from Hak's arms, she gave him an apologetic smile before assuring the maid it was quite alright and that she would be in her chambers in a moment to get changed into more formal attire with her assistance.

Bowing deeply and seeming relieved, the maid scurried off to find a suitable piece for her to wear, leaving them alone again so that they might say their goodbyes.

She was pretty sure the girl was fairly new to the palace. Most other servants were much more relaxed around her, only keeping to the strict formalities around her out of habit and their own comfort level when working around those of the upper class than out of this nervous fear that this girl seemed to radiate.

The soldiers were the most informal with her, often calling out hellos whenever she passed by the barracks, much to the annoyance of their superiors, even as they themselves would also wave to her quietly with smiles on their faces.

Hak had even told her one time that most of the newer recruits were aiming to work their way up to be palace guards one day, so great was their admiration and respect. This was something she'd earned through her visits where she'd encourage their efforts and inspire them to help those around them who could not do so on their own. And while this warmed her heart it also made her want to roll her eyes thinking of even more guards following her around wherever she went.

Still, maybe she'd try chatting more with the new maid as she helped her dress to help ease the poor girls' nerves.

Just as she got up and began to make her way back down the stone path they had come, she was paused when she felt a gentle hand grab her wrist, turning around to see Hak's tender worried gaze.

"Tomorrow, let's go out, just the two of us. We could go hunting. It's been awhile since we last got the chance to." He said, reaching his hand further to gives hers a small squeeze in earnest.

"Hak, you know I'd love too but there's so much to do, I don't know if there'll be a chance to—"

"Don't worry about that, I'm sure we can shift a few things around to make it work. I'll take care of it. Just tell me you want to, and I'll make it happen."

She smiled brightly then and gave his hand a squeeze in return.

"If you're sure—"

"Absolutely."

She laughed a little at his eagerness.

"Alright then. I'd love to."

And with that, he gave her a smile of his own and pulled her towards him so that he could place a lingering kiss on the back of her hand before releasing her with the promise that he'd see her again that night.

{*****}

That night, however, after she finished up her meeting with Tae-Jun and wished him a pleasant evening, she had expected to reach the dining hall and find Hak waiting, his usual smirk on his face asking how her how 'baby sitting' Tae-Jun had gone. Instead her eager steps had slowed to a halt as a servant rushed to inform her that unfortunately the King Consort, had been called away on urgent summons to the East in the Wind Tribe and would be unable to join her for dinner.

Disappointed at this notion but refusing to be discouraged, she thanked the servant for letting her know and dined on a simple dinner of a bit of smoked duck, a glass of water and a few root vegetables and herbs. After she had finished and thanked the cook for the meal – to which he still chose to adamantly claim was his honor and there was no need for her to do so – she excused herself for the night, retiring to her chambers where she could wait for Hak to return again later.

It had been so long since they'd had time alone together, and the few precious moments they'd snuck in the gardens still didn't feel like enough. He had promised her before she had left that tomorrow they would take the day off together but that seemed so far away from now, and it was _now_ that she missed him and wished he'd simply fly back to her side.

She couldn't complain though. Not when it had been an urgent summons, and from Hak's homeland at that. Hopefully everything was alright there, and it was in fact, something easily solved. But that didn't mean the disappointment in her chest felt any less heavy, having him so close for a moment only for him to be so far away again the next.

He should return that night however, so she knew it was silly of her to feel so put out by his absence. It could very well have been a family matter after all, and it was selfish of her to not be more worried that everyone was alright.

Taking off her crown and setting it on her vanity, she put aside her sulking for the moment and instead carefully began going about brushing her hair and slipping into her sleeping attire for the night. It was a simple ritual but one that made her feel relaxed and helped re-set her mind before going to sleep.

Her hair, now fairly long again, though still shorter than she had worn it as a young girl, still gave her trouble from time to time. It easily worked its way into complex knots if she left it uncared for, for too long. So, every night, she took the time to sit down by her window and slowly work out all the tangles with her favourite brush, a beautiful one made out of rose-wood and inlaid with a dark green Jade dragon on the back. A gift Jae-ha had given her a few years back.

As the hours ticked by and Yona found there were no more knots left to occupy her time, she let out a small sigh and got up, gently placing the brush back in the drawer of her vanity with care before shuffling slowly to the bed, too tired to keep trying to stay awake and waiting by the window. She'd wait for him lying down comfortably in her warm bed and help him in when he returned, the sound of the heavy doors surely being enough to wake her.

So, as she lay down and wrapped herself up in the sheets, she did her best to wait a few more moments, counting the beams of wood in the ceiling before sleep inevitably stole her away.

The next time she awoke however, it was not to the sound of her doors opening, Hak sneaking in as quietly as he could manage, but instead to the sound of her ladies in waiting knocking on the thick wooden doors asking her permission to come in and assist her in getting dressed that morning.

Startled, she looked over beside her and found that the other side of the bed had not so much as been touched, still perfectly made and unwrinkled as it had been when she'd first gotten into bed.

He must not be back yet, she thought sadly to herself. And indeed, once she let the women into her chambers and allowed them to style her hair for that morning they explained that The King Consort was still busy attending matters out East, but not to worry as he would surely be back again by that afternoon.

That was, until the afternoon came and went. Then evening.

After what felt like a lifetime of forcing herself to be all smiles and diplomacy throughout the day, Yona eventual found herself back in her chambers again that night, having not seen or heard anything from Hak the entire day.

So much for a day just to themselves, she thought miserably as she sat by her window, still dressed up from that day's worth of meetings as she stared up at the stars once more, each one cold and alone in its icy light, just as she felt right then. In some ways, she knew she should have expected something like this to happen. After all, what royal ever simply got to pretend away their responsibilities for a day? Certainly not one responsible for the welfare of a still healing, still growing kingdom such as her own.

"Perhaps this is a wake up call of sorts," she muttered to her favourite constellation, whom she always found to be a good listener, "A wake up call to stop dreaming about adventures of the past and to start focusing on the tasks I have right in front of me."

"Now where's the fun in that? If there's one thing you should hold onto the hardest it's the dreams that make you happy." Replied a voice from behind her. That deep, smooth voice that she'd been waiting to hear from around the corner all day.

Whipping her head around in surprise, having not heard him sneak in, Yona took in the sight before her with a grin.

There was Hak, looking tired and sweaty, still taking off the last of his armour including a pair of emblazoned arm guards, looking at her with a goofy grin plastered on his face, having caught her moping, as he leaned against the closed door behind him.

Before she could think of anything to say in response, however, he was already moving.

Chucking the arm guards on the desk by the window first, having finally undone all the buckles, he quickly plucked the crown off her head and dumped it beside them before whisking past her to the closet where he started chucking clothes at her over his head.

"Hak, what on earth do you think you're doing? You've been gone since last night you must be exhausted! Sit down for a moment, will you? What's with the clothes throwing and running about?" she asked, plucking the white linen riding shirt he had tossed at her off her head.

"I will admit I am exhausted, but I made you a promise. We didn't manage to have the day together and I apologise for that, but that doesn't mean we still can't spend the rest of it together!" he replied easily.

"What? What do you mean?" she asked, confused but already loosening the ties of her robe to slip into the shirt and pants ensemble that she'd compiled.

"I mean, we still have the whole night ahead of us and lucky for us, I managed to convince one of the guards to change the stations of the rounds tonight so that we have just enough time to sneak out." He told he while giving her a conspirator's grin.

"Sneak out?!" she exclaimed, nearly toppling over in astonishment as she hopped about putting on one of her shoes.

He simply gave her a wink before tossing his own stinking robe at her and started to get changed himself as she let out a quiet shriek and batted it away even as they both laughed.

Once they were both dressed into clothing more appropriate for sneaking around and hiking out into the forest, Hak offered her his hand as he opened the Western facing window, indicating where their escape would start.

"Hang on one second," she said, quickly grabbing her bow and quiver off its place of honor on the wall.

"Can't leave without this. Afterall, you promised me a hunting trip." She explained giving him an impish grin as she secured them both on her back.

"So I did," he replied, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead before taking her hand and leading her out the window.

Just as he'd promised, the guards that were usually stationed outside that night were just out of view and they were able to sneak out of the palace grounds without any mishaps. An hour later they were well into the woods, the full moon and starlight filtering in through the leaves easily lighting their way.

Once they found a suitable clearing, they decided to take a break and enjoy the night air for a little while, sitting down on an old log that overlooked the craggy edge of a cliff.

She breathed in deeply, letting the chill air fill her lungs fully and holding it for a moment before letting it all out in one big sigh of contentment, a peaceful smile still resting easily on her face.

Noticing this, she heard Hak let out a chuckle before wrapping and arm around her waist and pulling her closer to lean into his side which she did happily and without any resistance.

"That's the face I wanted to see. Already you look like ten years of worry have been lifted from your shoulders." He said, letting out a sigh of contentment of his own as he absentmindedly rubbed his thumb up and down her side in long soothing strokes.

"I feel like that's the case." She admitted, looking out over the drop of the cliff edge and listening as the wind whistled by.

"More importantly, I feel home again, even though by being here I've left home once more."

"I know what you mean." He replied honestly, "We may be back where we grew up, but out here? Here is what feels most like home for some reason."

"It's where we found our family." she added softly, snuggling further into her embrace.

"You're right about that."

For awhile, they sat there together in comfortable silence even if there was so much they had left to say, so much left to catch up on, letting the wind in the trees and the sound of the night creatures running about in the undergrowth do the talking for them. Because, it wasn't the conversation they had missed and needed the most, but just each other's presence, and that before anything else, had needed to come first. The need to just _be_ together.

As the night went on however and the moon began to shift further and further in the sky, they knew they would have to head back soon to get some sleep and before anyone noticed they were gone and the whole palace went into an uproar trying to find them.

"We should probably get going and start to make our way back from the woods. It'll probably take awhile after all." Hak said, breaking the silence and gently rousing Yona from where she had been dosing on his shoulder.

"True, but not just yet. We still haven't done what we set out to do." She replied, already wide awake again and stretching her limbs as she got up.

"What do you mean?"

Giving him a cheeky look that had him raising an eyebrow she simply picked up her bow and quiver from where she'd laid them on the ground and gave them both a pronounced shake in explanation.

"Right, how could I possibly forget?" he said, hauling himself up and plucking on the arrows from her quiver and giving it an experimental bend before she snatched it back.

"Tell me Princess, it's been quite a while. Are you sure you still remember how to shoot properly?" he asked teasingly, giving her legs a light whap with the other arrow he'd snuck from behind her when she wasn't looking.

Swatting him away as he playfully hopped back, defending himself from any more errant elbows that might have been sent his way she cocked her hip and gave him an innocent look.

"Well I don't know; it has been quite awhile hasn't it? How about we make a bet then?"

A boyish grin swept across his face at this. "Alight, I'm listening. What do you suggest then Princess?"

"How about," she started, taking one of her arrows and tapping the tip against her lip, "If I can hit the target three times in a row, splitting the previous two arrows in half, You have to carry me back down all the way to the castle."

His eyes widened, but not in surprise, but excitement at the thought of seeing her pull off such a feat.

"Okay, and if you can't then you have to feed me breakfast in bed."

"Really?! You want me to spoon feed you like a child, that's what you want?"

"You're the one you asked for a piggy-back ride, besides, way back when we first started roaming the countryside and I got hurt you were going to feed me before white snake barged in and ruined it."

She rolled her eyes at both the memory and his childishness. Perhaps even the childishness that still resided in them both despite their age.

"Fine, fine, it's a bet. Besides, not like I'll have to do it anyway." She said teasingly as she strung her bow and picked out three arrows that had the neatest fletchings.

"Oh, confident, are we?" he asked, even as mentally he approved her choice of arrows with pride.

"Why shouldn't I be? After all I learnt from the best teacher. Surely all those lessons and all that practice won't go to waste so quickly?"

"I'll take the compliment but we'll see about the rest now won't we?" and with that, he went over to a large Oak about 30 paces away and using a rock he picked up off the ground, scraped a large 'X' into the centre of the bark.

"There's your target, now show me if you haven't forgotten everything, I taught you just yet." He said marching back over and giving her a mock bow as a signal to begin whenever she was ready.

Ignoring the gesture, she took her stance, nocked an arrow and carefully lined up the shot, holding her breath and counting the heartbeats before releasing in-between it's beats.

The arrow sang through the air as it raced towards the target, hitting the centre of the 'X' with a satisfying '_thunk'_ as it reached its target.

A perfect bullseye.

"Not bad," Hak admitted in a casual tone, even as internally he was beaming, "First one down, only two to go. The only question is can you do it again?"

Taking the time to breathe and calm any nerves, without preamble, she calmly nocked her second arrow, lifted and drew her bow taught and looked down the at the target before her.

At the arrow already resting in the tree.

One breath.

Two heartbeats.

On the third, she let loose her shot and held her position for a breath longer as the arrow left the string.

A moment later, there was the satisfying crack of her first arrow being split straight and true right down the middle.

Another perfect shot. Now only one left to go. She nocked her arrow.

Seeing how well she was doing and the likelihood that she would win their little bet Hak decided that perhaps a little extra challenge was in order if he had any chance of her missing her last shot.

As she lined up her last shot, eyes focused and unyielding as they stared down her target, he slowly inched over until her was right behind her, looking down the shaft of the arrow just as she was.

He counted with her. One Breath, two heartbeats.

Then just before she released, he leaned in, fast as lightning and pressed a warm kiss to her neck just behind her ear.

Her eyes widened in surprise and then horror as she felt the arrow slip from her fingers, all while he grinned a boyish, self-satisfied grin.

But it was too late the shot was gone. He'd won their little bet and she was furious as his little 'distraction' which made him laugh all the more.

As she turned to face him and tell him off for his little scheme, they were both interrupted by a distinct sound.

Suddenly the annoyance slipped from her face as his grin slipped from his. They both knew that sound.

The perfect crack of a splintered arrow.

Slowly they both turned to look back down at the target to see where the arrow had struck and sure enough there in the bark of the tree he had picked, not thirty paces away, could the third and final arrow be seen sticking out from the stack of three they had created. All of them split right down the middle in a perfect bullseye.

"No way." He said, utterly amazed that she had managed to not shift her bow even the slightest when she had slipped the arrow, and thereby keeping the shot straight and true.

He'd seen he flinch in surprise, hadn't he? No, no when he though on it the only thing he saw was her eyes widen.

She hadn't moved an inch.

"Well, I guess I'll go retrieve my one good arrow left from the group while you get ready to give me a piggyback ride. It's a long walk home after all." She said, with a massive grin as she sauntered over to the tree.

Impressed as he was, he was not about to let her swagger away so easily and so, before she could protest, he rushed up behind her and sung her off her feet, throwing her over his shoulder.

"Hak! This is not a piggyback ride at all! Put me down!" she squealed as she laughed and wriggled about, trying to push herself off of his shoulder to no avail.

"Aw come on! You still get carried either way, so this is fine isn't it?" he replied in mock innocence as he spun around in circles.

"Not at all! This is not a piggyback ride!"

"Fine, fine have it your way then." He relented, as he left her slip down in front of him before turning around and kneeling down for her. In a moment, she had hoped herself up onto his back easily and he was left to pick up her bow and quiver and pass them back to her as he hefted her up higher and wrapped his arms under her legs before he began to head back down the way they came.

"See, this is much better." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Oh ya? How so?"

"Because I can do this a lot easier." She replied, and with that gave him a sweet lingering kiss on his cheek before nuzzling her head back into the crook of his neck.

He smiled easily and leaned his head against hers.

"Hmm, I guess you're right."

{*****}

Hi guys, once again its been way too long but with the help of my best friend kicking my butt I finally managed to get this fic out. Hope you all enjoy. It was inspired/based off of the song called 'The Cost of A Crown' by Mercedes Lackey. When I listen to it, I can't help but imagine Yona as Queen, thinking about her kingdom and her loved ones as she tries her best to be a good ruler. I meant to write in more with the dragons but got sidetracked. In this I imagined that no, they are not dead, but simply get send out a lot to the farther reaches of the kingdom to help Yona out with various tasks so she doesn't see them as often.

Reviews of all kinds are always welcome and appreciated. Hope you guys are having a wonderful holiday season and that you all have a fantastic new year!

Ps: Lyrics to the song are just below

The Cost of a Crown

The stars are very beautiful above the palace walls  
They shine with equal splendor still above far humbler halls  
I watch them from my window, but their bright, entrancing glow  
Reminds me of the freedom I gave up so long ago

The royal circlet of bright gold rests lightly on my brow  
I once thought only of the rights this circlet would endow  
But once I took the crown to which I had been schooled and bred  
I found it heavy on the heart, though light upon the head

Although I am the head of state, in truth I am the least  
The true Queen knows her people fed, before she sits to feast  
The good Queen knows her people safe, before she takes her rest  
Thinks twice and thrice and yet again, before she makes request

For they are all my children, all that I swore to defend  
It is my duty to become both Queen and trusted friend—  
And of my children high and low, from beggar to above  
The dearest are my Heralds, who return my care with love

The dearest are my Heralds, swift to spring to my command  
Who give me aid and fellowship, who always understand  
That land and people first have needs that I may not deny—  
So I must send my dearest friends to danger—and to die

A friend, a love, a child—it matters not. I know indeed  
That I must sacrifice them all if there should be the need  
They know, and they forgive me—doing more than I require  
With willing minds and loving hearts go straight to grasp the fire

These tears that burn my eyes are all the tears the Queen can't shed  
The tears I weep in silence as I mourn my Heralds dead  
O Gods that dwell beyond the stars, if you can hear my cry—  
And if you have compassion—let me send no more to die!


End file.
